California voters have decided to retain the death penalty for the state’s worst criminals, rejecting the argument that too few death row inmates are executed to justify the cost.A sad day for California, that's what I say. Fear and vengeance have clouded their normally progressive vision.
Nearly complete returns Wednesday showed Proposition 34 defeated with 52 percent voting against it. The initiative asked voters to repeal capital punishment in the state with the nation’s largest death row, with 726 inmates awaiting execution.
The initiative, backed by the ACLU, would have made life in prison without parole the state’s toughest sentence.
Proposition 34′s defeat comes despite its supporters outspending opponents by more than 5 to 1.
Supporters argued that ending the death penalty and shuttering California’s death row could save as much as $130 million a year. Opponents said it would allow the worst offenders to escape justice.
What do you think? Please leave a comment.
Progressive vision? California's a mess. The government can't pass a budget that makes any sense, and all these ballot measures only make things worse. Life is regulated down to the tiniest detail, but if you're an employee of the city of San Fransisco who wants to change your sex, your employer might pay for that.
ReplyDeleteThat kind of vision needs new eyes.
Why is it that "progressives" feel the need to abscond the concept of human rights, and claim it for themselves?
DeleteThe Constitutional Amendment which allowed for Capital Punishment in the State of California (it was necessary to amend the State Constitution, as the infliction of death as a punitive measure, was ruled to be cruel and unusual punishment) has resulted in a mere 13 executions out of a population of over 700 condemned inmates. The death penalty statute which was conceived by a man who swore vengeance upon the high court of his State (on a side note he was also a gun control supporter, even before he was shot) and has only served to deprive the people of California of many Billions of dollars, and give hippies another thing to protest. It is a shame that a State in such an abysmal fiscal situation cannot find a better thing to spend money on than appeals lawyers.
Their progressive vision is probably too clouded to notice this line too:
ReplyDeleteProposition 34′s defeat comes despite its supporters outspending opponents by more than 5 to 1.
They’ll be too busy complaining about corporate money buying votes to notice.
Disclosure: I voted for prop 34.
With the billions that have been spent on fighting appeals, it would be somewhat wasteful if the State did not finish the job. The reallocation of funds to law enforcement entities would be of nominal value, and quite temporary.
ReplyDelete